Millman gets Australia off to a flyer in Davis Cup tie

AUSTRALIA has claimed a crucial early advantage in its Davis Cup tie with Bosnia and Herzegovina, thanks to John Millman.

The world No.36 had never beaten Bosnia's top-ranked player, world No.52 Damir Dzumhur, in two attempts, but downed him in straight sets 6-3 6-2 to open up the five-match tie.

Millman won the opening two games to create a dominant tone and his cause was helped by a wayward performance by the Bosnian, who made 34 unforced errors.

It continues a strong 12 months for Millman, including his run to the quarter-finals of the US Open, where he defeated Roger Federer in four sets.

Australia's No.1, Alex de Minaur, ranked 28th in the world, meets world No.99 Mirza Basic in the second singles match.

Australia is seeking to be among a dozen winners of cup ties around the world this weekend. The victors join six automatic qualifiers at the cup finals in Madrid in late November.

The Australians have railed against changes to the cup format - the scrapping of home-and-away ties, and reducing matches to best-of-three sets over two days instead of the traditional five-setters over three days.

On Saturday, John Peers and Jordan Thompson will face Tomislav Brkic and Basic in the doubles tie before the reverse singles matches - which Australia coach Lleyton Hewitt is hoping will be dead rubbers by that stage.